Author Notes
Oh, boy! It feels good to be back! Here's a flashback to sometime after Bonnie's arrival to present day Mystic Falls, a prelude to the last two chapters, to discover what kind of life our witch has been making for herself. Things have certainly changed, but Kai stays on the brain. Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for reading :)
sweet dreams,
disconapnoir
oOoOoOo
I can't remember the last time I felt this way
About somebody
You've done something to my mind
And I can't control it
But I don't love you anymore
Yes, I do, I think
Loving you is wrong
Ooh, ooh, ooh
—Erykah Badu, "Green Eyes"
"You painted your nails." Kai's voice broke Bonnie out of her focus on the textbook in front of her.
"Yeah. Pretty crazy, right?" She responded with sarcasm, but was intrigued by Kai's piercing gaze on her right foot stretched out beside their pile of books on the floor.
"I've never seen them this color before." He took Bonnie's foot into his hand and held it up higher to investigate.
"So? What about it?"
"Nothing. It's just an interesting color." His tone sounded scientific, but his continued hold on her foot gave Bonnie pause.
"Kai?" She sang the question.
"Yes?" He mimicked her, gaze never leaving her lavender toes.
"You like feet, don't you?"
That got his attention. "Huh? What?!"
Bonnie gasped. "Oh my god! You do! You're one of those freaks who get off on feet!"
Kai rolled his eyes while Bonnie broke out into a fit of laughter.
"No! I like your feet."
"Uh-huh, sure, just my feet."
Kai's stare grew cold as his grip tightened on her foot. "Yes. Your toes. Your feet. Your ankles. Everything attached to those deceptively long, brown legs."
Bonnie's laughter came to a stop as her pupils grew larger. He shot her one of his demented smiles before sucking two of her toes into his mouth. She jolted at the feeling of his tongue sliding across her big toe, and he braced her ankle with his other hand to keep her still. He released her toes and planted a kiss on the ball of her foot.
Bonnie released the breath she was holding. "And you…like that?"
Kai spread his legs and planted her foot on the erection hiding underneath his jeans. He watched her lavender toes trace his hard length and groaned brazenly in response. If Kai had any shame about his sexuality, he never showed it to Bonnie.
"Did you like that?" He asked, curious.
Bonnie was slow to smile. She took his hand and guided him up her mini skirt and through the side of her panties.
"Shit…" Kai licked his lips as his fingers sought deeper between Bonnie's legs.
"BONNIE SHEILA BENNETT!"
The two young lovers jumped at the sudden boom of Grams' voice from the stairwell.
"I said dinner's ready! So go wash y'all's dirty little hands and come help set the table!"
Bonnie was the first to enter the kitchen. Sheila smirked at Bonnie's lack of eye contact.
"How are your studies going, Bonnie baby?"
"Just fine, Grams. Do you need anymore lemon slices for the sweet tea?"
"You made sweet tea?!" Kai made a beeline for the fridge and jumped back when the door slammed shut.
"Yes, I did, and you will wait till we're all seated before you start gorging yourself on it."
Bonnie snickered as she set silverware evenly on the floral placemats.
"I could get seated right now!" Kai was held in place by an invisible hand.
"Not till I'm finished setting the table." Bonnie stuck her tongue out.
"I just love when the Bennett witches gang up on me! It's the best appetizer a young siphoner can ask for."
"And if the young siphoner wants to live long enough to enjoy the entree, he needs to go out back and clip a few sprigs of basil for me." Sheila handed him a pair of herb shears.
"I don't know, Ms. Sheila, that sounds more like young witch work to me."
Two pairs of righteous eyes glowered at Kai with little amusement.
"Tough room. I'll be back with fresh basil!"
Bonnie's smile blossomed as she watched Kai skip out the backdoor.
"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you smiling like that again."
Bonnie turned to watch Sheila take a seat at the kitchen table. She sat down across from her, suddenly aware of how bright and striking her Grams looked as the edges of her periphery began to dissolve and brighten.
"I'm dreaming." Bonnie watched amazed as Grams poured them each a tall glass of iced sweet tea.
"Yes, you're finally starting to dream again. Expansive dreams, not just nightmares and endless repeats of your least favorite moments." Sheila passed a glass to Bonnie's outstretched hand. "I'd like to toot my own horn, tell you that I'm responsible for this psychic 'glow up', you young folk like to call it, but the truth is, sending you to that Gemini prison world did even more wonders than I predicted."
"What did you predict, exactly?"
"Besides giving you and Damon a chance to survive? I knew you'd be forced to wise up and finally confront your shadow."
Bonnie's sleepy mind tried to understand the term. She was vaguely aware of "shadow work" but nothing more than trendy articles shared on Twitter.
"It's the thing that's always fascinated me about Gemini magic. The shadow side is always incorporated into the work, and in the most physical, visceral of ways. It's where Gemini witches find their strength. The shadow is always at play. Best to know where it plays most successfully."
"Malachai…" Bonnie whispered.
"I knew he would challenge you, sharpen your magic, but I didn't think he'd be the one to lead you to your shadow. And I certainly didn't think you'd follow him so…willingly." Sheila raised an eyebrow. Bonnie's face began to flush.
"I'm not judging you, baby. You surely don't believe your Grams has been a chaste, magical negro her whole life?"
Bonnie laughed out loud. "No, Grams! I've heard plenty of your stories, and all of those key details you left out."
Sheila sighed dramatically. "The cons of having a psychic granddaughter."
"Says the psychic grandmother." Bonnie chuckled at her eye roll in response. "My feelings for Kai…you don't think it's wrong?"
Sheila grew somber. "I can't lie to you, child. The connection you two share is strong, but it's turbulent. You two challenge one another by your very natures. That kind of energy can create quite a pull. Whether you choose to keep seeing each other or stay apart forever, it won't be an easy decision. To make or to keep."
"You make it sound…inevitable." Bonnie shook her head.
"Because it is." Sheila shrugged. "Even with the material separated across space and time, the magic has bonded. If and how you continue forward is entirely up to the two of you. And I strongly suggest you avoid making the grave mistake most of us women make. Supernatural and human alike."
"Which is?"
"Placing your power into the hands of someone you love. That's not a gesture of devotion. It's a prison sentence."
Bonnie's heart ached. She, Elena, and Caroline were all too familiar. "Thank you, Grams. I have a feeling there's more you wanted to tell me."
"Of course there is!" Sheila laughed. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now, but a certain Gemini wunderkind seems to follow wherever your mind goes these days."
Sheila took her granddaughter's hands into hers. Bonnie marveled at the real warmth she felt. "You've been dealt quite a hand, Bonnie, and you're finally learning how to really play the game. I can't tell you it'll get easier. It's never been easy for us in this country, and when the world relies on your submission to feel any pride in itself, it'll never be easy for you no matter where you go. But if you focus more on struggle than growth, more on revenge than love, you will be smothered by the darkness. And the darkness should never overcome you, Bonnie. It owes it's very existence to your light."
"My shadow?"
"I was so excited when your mother went into labor with you. A Pisces Bennett witch? Harnessing the all-there-is from the ancient depths of the sea, on this side and the other? Such compassion and duplicity at your disposal."
"Duplicity…so everything Kai said about me, his 'supernatural reckoning' speech, was right?"
Sheila cackled loudly. "Oh, sweetheart! If you have to ask!" She continued to laugh as she raised her glass to Bonnie. "Here's to my grandbaby, Bonnie Sheila Bennett, living with her eyes wide open. All four of them."
oOoOoOo
The last whispers of Bonnie's dream brightened into a dazzling white, but her Grams' laughter tinkled on. Somewhere between the sleeping and waking world, she felt warm and light. Sheila in a good mood could inspire that in anyone. Bonnie could still recall the number of times a cross waitress or threatening truck driver seemed to melt in the presence of her solid confidence and disarming laughter. Sheila Bennett was not one to put on a front. If she was angry, she did not subdue her anger. And if she was happy, well, she wore it like a small child unashamed of her nakedness. Bonnie realized she had forgotten about this side of her Grams. Through her sensitive teen years all Bonnie could focus on was Sheila's drinking, evasion of certain topics, and the distain of some of Mystic Fall's most influential people.
Bonnie opened her eyes. She could feel a heaviness in her stomach. It felt like guilt. A little resentment too, maybe. And she could feel the knee-jerk reaction racing around the corner of her mind. She should wallow. Sink into the shame of becoming an ungrateful brat more concerned with the protection of her friends than her own blood. A familiar pool of pain that over the last year she had finally learned how to approach its edge and simply bear witness.
But this morning felt different. With Grams' laughter still sparkling in the room, Bonnie knew it was time to let go of the guilt.
She kicked off the covers and hopped out of bed, headed straight for her boots thrown haphazardly by the door. It was time to pay Sheila a visit.
oOoOoOo
Right outside the cemetery gates, a man sat in a lawn chair, bundled up against the lingering cold of a fall night. Bonnie left her car to idle and perused the assortment of flowers around him. She chose a bouquet of primrose and handed the man a large bill. When he grabbed his lockbox to make change, Bonnie shook her head.
"Christmas is practically around the corner, you know."
The man smiled and nodded.
Back in her car, Bonnie drove around the winding lane to the lot that held her Grams. The dew shimmered on the grass in the light of the rising sun behind her. She squinted at the sunrise.
"Excellent timing." She sank to her haunches and used her magic to wipe the leaves and grime off the gravestone before placing the bouquet in the vase below. She tucked her jacket under her pajama bottoms as she sat cross-legged on the ground.
Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know where to begin. She took a deep breath and looked around. It was a beautiful scene, the cemetery still save for the chittering birds assembling for their first meeting at dawn. She brushed her palms over blades of grass and held them up. Drop by drop, she levitated the dew higher and higher until it evaporated in the morning sun.
"Everything feels so different, Grams. I thought I was connected to nature before, but now…" She breathed in deeply again, the north wind swelling in her lungs, and shivered with the promise of winter. "And it's not just my magic, isn't it?"
Bonnie's eyes traced the marbling in the gravestone as she considered her path since arriving back in present day Mystic Falls. The first few days were difficult. After the lovely family reunion, her friends quickly became anxious about her wellbeing. No one would let her out of their sight for long. Damon and Elena demanded she move into the boarding house. Stefan insisted on escorting her on every errand around town. Jeremy, the puppy she still found him to be, claimed he understood it was over between them but kept on searching for her eyes, hands always reaching for her waist, arms, wrists. Matt, Goddess bless him, simply asked if anything she planned to do was "a good idea?" And Caroline, Goddess help her, would not accept Bonnie's request to keep the gritty details of her time away to herself. At least until she was ready to share.
And then a crazy thing happened. Bonnie stopped caring what any of them thought. It was a great surprise to her, but even more so to her friends. And she found she didn't care about that either. Instead, she focused on getting her shit together.
First, a long overdue visit to St. Louis with her dad. He could sense the change in her, and she kept witch talk to a minimum, but was very clear about the direction she was going. The air in her lungs. The blood in her veins. Magic was one in the same. Her father agreed. He decided it might be best to stay closer to his family and promised to keep a room ready for Bonnie in River City whenever she needed.
She arrived back in Virginia just in time to declare her new major in anthropology. Inspired by Gram's favorite performer, Katherine Dunham, Bonnie wanted to take her occult studies through Africa, Latin America, and wherever the African diaspora migrated across the globe. Thanks to her tutelage under a certain Gemini siphoner, she already had various ideas for a thesis.
Bonnie moved into her Grams' house, in an effort to feel close to the only woman she considered a real mother and be supported in her mastery of the craft. Her dreams became sharper, more articulate and she would spend close to an hour each morning writing down clues the spirit world offered her.
A sudden gust of wind brought Bonnie out of her head.
"I think I'm in love with Kai Parker." She didn't mean to start the conversation here, but it made sense when she spoke aloud. "How insane is that to say?" She started to giggle.
"Really, I should start by saying thank you for looking out for me, and Damon…and how insane is that to say?" Bonnie laughed out loud until tears began to sparkle in her eyes.
"I understand now you weren't just trying to save my life. You were giving me the chance for a new one. And I want you to know, I'm going to take it seriously. My craft. My love. My life. I'm going to make you proud, Grams. I promise." Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"And I'm really proud of myself, you know? The changes I've made. So you can imagine why I feel so stupid for constantly thinking about Malachai." She snorted. "A boy! A deranged, antisocial boy from a whole other world!"
Visions from last night's dreams swirled in her head. Kai's intensely observant stare. The electricity of his touch. Bonnie rubbed her chest above a fluttering heart.
"I made a point to not share any details with anyone, and I still feel so embarrassed! And ashamed! Like, what do I look like getting so worked up over a guy I hardly know?" She shook her head and sighed. "But I do know him. I want to know more about him. I want him to know more about me."
"I'm no good at love affairs." Bonnie closed her eyes. Streaks of red from the morning sun cut across her eyelids. For just a split second, she could see Kai's face, a burst of light illuminating his features and reflecting in his cold eyes. Bonnie gasped and shivered.
"We really are connected, aren't we?" Right on cue, two white butterflies circled her head before landing on the primrose in front of her. She sighed. "I was afraid so."
But Bonnie's small smile begged to differ.
oOoOoOo
The parallels were uncanny. Malachai Parker roamed through Mystic Falls's sole grocery store, completely oblivious to the vampire stalking him from aisle to aisle. It was easily done since the store was fairly busy as most stores are once the kids are out of school and the nine-to-fivers are free to leave the office. And since the holiday season was in full swing, Damon had plenty of gaudy Santa and reindeer displays to hide behind.
He didn't believe what he saw when he dropped in to pick up a few of Elena's favorite treats. No surprise that they were still on the outs nearly a year after returning from the prison world, but the holidays seemed to mellow out all three of Mystic Fall's Angels and Damon was going to take advantage of their irritating Christmas spirit. He'd woo the shit out of Elena and her besties and, thanks to the relative supernatural calm over the last few months, finally everything would go back to normal. Well, as normal as they could afford anyway.
And then somewhere between the cookie and cereal aisle, he saw Kai.
Barely recognized the freak. Life in the real world must have triggered the aging process. Where the boy was once gangly and pale, he had now filled out and his hair had darkened. Gone was the mass-shooter cargo shorts and t-shirt uniform and in their place, respectable jeans and a wool coat. He was even more convinced of the man's true identity when he grabbed multiple bags of pork rinds. And he was certain when the man gave the chatty checkout lady a run for her money. Kai was waving around a bouquet of roses going on and on about reuniting with "the girl of his dreams." Chatty Kathy thought it was "absolutely adorable" until Kai went into detail about the things he found cutest about his dream girl which included "the pop of her spine realigning" and "her mean right hook" and "the way she bleeds." She all but threw the bags in his arms to get him to leave the counter.
Yup. The prison world sociopath was back in Mystic Falls and his target was Bonnie Bennett.
Damon's best friend had yet to go into detail about her time trapped alone with Malachai, and he had to admit her refusal to talk about it did selfishly serve his own interest. It was easier to keep the guilt of not being able to rescue her at bay if he focused on the here-and-now. Truth is, Bonnie returned to Mystic Falls brighter and badder than ever. Gone was the melancholy, the wrath, and all those other vicious emotions that always brought her to fall on the same sword time and time again. She was confident, assertive, and laughing louder than he's ever heard her laugh before—and not just at his expense.
As far as Damon was concerned, Bonnie Bennett's joy was the single most priceless thing in his entire undead life. His love life was flailing over a cliff, meanwhile his best drinking buddy was falling in love with a doctor who just happened to come from the same line of batshit witchery as Kai. He kept this all to himself, of course. The Scooby gang would know nothing of it until Bonnie was ready to share her story, with him first, obviously, as best friend and guardian of her wellbeing. But he wouldn't push her. No, he wouldn't dare darken that new smile of hers.
That is, until he followed Kai Parker to the parking lot and watched him hop into a douchey car. He could hear the crank of the ignition, and "Yellow Ledbetter" blasting from the speakers a moment later. Kai adjusted the rearview mirror to perfectly frame his reflection. He held the bouquet just beneath his smoldering eyes.
"Bonnie! Is that really you?" Kai rehearsed in the rearview mirror. He shook his head. Too fake. She'd see right through me. "Bonnie…I know we said we'd both go our separate ways, but you know I've never been a man of my word." Way too honest. I need to sway her to my side, not remind her of why she should've left me back in the prison world. "Dammit. What's the angle here?"
Damon watched in disbelief as Kai preened in front of the mirror and rehearsed his lines. No, he didn't know exactly what happened after he was sucked into a beam of light, but Damon just learned one thing for sure. Maybe it's because she had obviously spared his life. Maybe it's because she was a supreme witch and a formidable foe. Or maybe it's just because Bonnie's bright green eyes and cupid bow smile could make you wanna do something crazy to see it again. The specifics didn't matter. Damon now knew Kai Parker was in love with his Bonnie. And there was no way in hell he'd let that asshole get near her ever again.
Holiday treats forgotten, Damon flashed to his car and pulled off into the street, following close behind Kai Parker.
"Bonnie, let's be honest. I can't stop thinking about you. You can't stop thinking about me." Kai rehearsed aloud as his eyes focused on the winding road back to the main street. "So why should we keep punishing ourselves—"
A loud thud and the crush of glass was the only warning he got. Some asshole just rear ended him.
"What the fuck?!"
Kai looked to the rearview mirror and chuckled darkly at the reflection of a familiar baby blue Camaro. "Just the tour guide I need to lead me to Bonster." He continued laughing as he turned on his blinker and politely pulled over onto the dirt shoulder. He stepped out the car and breezed over to meet the Camaro pulling up right behind his Maybach.
"If it isn't Damon Salvatore! It feels like a lifetime ago since I saw your silly, dumb face in that cave." Kai slid his hands into his coat pockets. His magic could sense the fury radiating off of the old vampire. It was simply delightful.
"If it isn't Malachi Parker! Last time I saw you, there was an axe plunged into your back."
"Oh, that vampire memory of yours is fizzling out on you, Damon. The last time you saw me, I was plunging an arrow into Bonnie's beautiful abdomen." Kai smiled, both at the memory and Damon's shift in demeanor. His patience was clearly hitting a wall.
"What are you doing here, Kai?" Damon took a few cautious steps towards him. As much as he wanted to rip his head clean off and call it a night, he knew Kai was a crafty motherfucker. There was bound to be unforeseen tricks up his sleeve.
"I think we both know what I'm doing here, Damon. Surely, Bonnie told you about our time spent in the pen." Kai marveled at Damon's blank expression. "Or not…she didn't tell you anything about us?"
"She told me enough." Damon spat back.
"Which was…?" Kai held up a hand.
"That you're a sociopath who can't be trusted."
"Well, of course! But you knew that all on your own. I'm talking about everything that happened between me and Bonnie since you got dumped back into this hell hole with your polyamorous girlfriend and sewer system worth of guilt."
Damon clenched his fists.
"Awww. I thought you two were best buddies. Don't besties like to braid each other's hair and gossip about their love lives?"
"I didn't come here for story time, asshole."
"Didn't you? You must have heard my hypothetical reunions with Bonnie in the car. You're confronting me so you can connect the dots of our history, right? You want me to tell you how Bonnie and I came to an understanding. How we gave each other exactly what we needed, and even more of what we wanted, before we beamed back home?"
"Watch it, Malachai!" Damon was quickly closing the distance between them.
"And Bonnie wanted so much. You don't even know how much, Damon. Surely if you did, you would've been able to give it to her yourself, right?"
Damon flashed to Kai and snatched him up by the lapels of his coat. Kai grinned maniacally. He didn't expect to have this much fun before his reunion with his one true love.
"I don't give a shit what happened over there! And I'm not pressing Bonnie about it because this is the happiest I've ever seen her and I'm not letting anything get in the way of her—" Damon's breath was seized from his lungs. His mouth gaped open as he felt something worm its way through his brain. This was nothing like Bonnie's aneurysm attacks. This was a slow, focused burn snaking through his head. Blood began to pour from his nose.
Kai removed himself from Damon's grip and watched amused as red droplets bled into his white t-shirt. "I have to thank you for this little interaction. It's a relief to know Bonnie is happy and living her life on her own terms. Really, I would've gone absolutely postal if you told me she was back to being the sacrificial lamb you freeloaders are so used to her being." He stood toe to toe with the bleeding, convulsing vampire.
"But you have no idea what happened in the prison world. You have no idea about the connection Bonnie and I share. It's the only thing keeping me from ripping your heart out and leaving your stupid, desiccated body to explode in the morning sun right here by the side of the road. Because that would break my Bonster's heart."
Kai released his magic hold on Damon's brain and spun around, opening the driver side door with a flamboyant flick of the wrist. He heard Damon's body slump to the earth, but refused to look back. He knew the vampire was listening to every word he said.
"I'm assuming you don't know where Bonnie is right now, or you would've gone to her first instead of following me. That's alright. I'll figure out her whereabouts all on my own." Kai started the car and shifted gears. He adjusted the mirror to see Damon panting and spitting as he tried to rise from the ground. "Or maybe you'll find her before I do. I hope so. Then you can ask her what really happened between us in the prison world. Hear the story straight from the witch's beautiful, talented mouth."
Damon's bloodshot eyes stared daggers. He listened to Kai's obnoxious laughter as the taillights faded from view. He needed to find Bonnie asap.